Development of polysulfone-based nanocomposite membranes reinforced with magnetic graphene oxide for efficient mercury and oil removal from wastewater

In this study, we developing polysulfone-based composite membranes embedded with magnetic graphene oxide (MGO) for efficient mercury and oil removal. The results revealed that increasing the MGO nanoparticle concentration from 0 to 0.1 %Wt. led to a reduction in the contact angle from 68.2 degrees to 56.7 degrees, which enhanced the membrane hydrophilicity. The modified composite membranes with MGO nanoparticles showed greater surface roughness than the membrane without nanoparticles (M0). It was also observed that the pure water flux decreased significantly with the addition of 0.1 %Wt MGO nanoparticles, from 239 L/m2. h to 179 L/m2.h. The highest mercury rejection efficiency was 94.35 % for the M1 membrane at pH 6, whereas the M1 membrane demonstrated a rejection efficiency of 96 % at a concentration of 250 mg/L during a 60-minute filtration. The composite membrane with 0.05 %Wt of MGO nanoparticles (M1) achieved the highest oil rejection rate of approximately 96 % after 60 min of operation.